Stanley Forman Reed

“ According to the view of the Government and that adopted by the courts below, the lesser penalty is limited to thefts from mail as opposed to thefts of mail for which the maximum punishment may be imposed. Under the Government's construction, the phrase 'article or thing' does not refer to mail or letters. Thus the one-year maximum sentence becomes appropriate only when mail is received in a manner not prohibited by the statute, and the contents thereof then illegally removed. We do not agree with this distinction.
As early as 1810 Congress prohibited and punished mail theft (2 Stat. 598) . ”

“ In 1825 the statute was amended to provide for increased penalties for the two offenses and the value distinction was retained (4 Stat. 109) . Under an 1872 revision, however, the punishment distinction as to the value or the nature of the mail stolen was eliminated (17 Stat. 318) . Under this revision the maximum sentence which could be imposed for mail theft was five years. ”

“ Following the Armstrong decision, the Postmaster General and the Attorney General asked Congress to eliminate the misdemeanor provision from § 1708 because the crime of theft of mail had been divided into 'felonies and misdemeanors with the value of the matter stolen as the determining factor.' S.Rep. No. 980, 82d Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 3-4; H.R.Rep. No. 1674, 82d Cong., 2d Sess., pp. 3-5. Subsequent to our granting certiorari, June 9, 1952, the proposal to eliminate the misdemeanor provision was approved, July 1, 1952. ”